Passenger vehicle



Nov. 4, 1941. 2,261,693

E. G. MATHAUER PASSENGER VEHICLE 5 Sheets-Sheet l original Fild May 17,1959 ATTORNEY` Nov. 4, 1941.

EL G. MATHAUER PASSENGER VEHICLE Original Filed May 1'7, 1939 5Sheets--Sheefl 2 e l e i s l v l l l l ATTORNEY ,M/ffm Nov. 4, 1941. E.G. MATHAUER PASSENGER VEHICLE A 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed May 17,1959 mmf INVE NTO R Edin ad Nov. 4, 1941. E. G. MA'rHAur-:Rv

' PASSENGER VEHICLE Original Filed May 1'7, 1959 5 Sheets--SheekI 4 w maE Nm W a EN d fdmwz l ATTORNEY 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 E. G. MATHAUER PASSENGERVEHICLE Original Filed May 17, 1939 INVENTORY .Edmund G. /Va MauerATTORNEY Nov. 4, l1.941.

Patented Nov. 4, 1941 2,261,693 PASSENGER VEHICLE Edmund G. Mathauer,Upper Darby, Pa., assignor to American Car and Foundry Motors Company,New York, N. Y., a corporation of Dela- Ware substituted for abandonedapplication Serial No.

274,142, May 17, 1939. This application May 8,

1941, Serial N0. 392,068

4 Claims.

This invention relates to passenger vehicles in general and hasparticular reference to motor driven vehicles for the transport ofpassengers and luggage. 'Ihis application is a substitute forapplication Serial No. 274,142, led May 17, 1939.

In the past the majority of passenger carrying vehicles used ininterstate service have been built with the luggage and parcel racklocated in the roof zone above the seats but such a placement of theluggage rack is extremely inconvenient due to the necessity of liftinglarge heavy baggage to a level even with or above the persons head. Theplacement of baggage above the seats has also been a source of dangerdue to the possibility of baggage falling on the occupants of the seatsand such as particularly true in case of an accident or in case, thevehicle either completely or partially overturns. More recentconstruction has permitted the storage of baggage beneath the vehicleoor with'access to the baggage space being obtained through doors cut inthe side of the vehicle. Placing the baggage beneath the :door in suchcompartments accessible only from the side of the vehicle has made itextremely inconvenient to enter or remove luggage particularly at pointswhere nov shelter is provided. Such placement of luggage frequentlyrequires the presence of the owner necessitating their being subjectedto rain or snow 'while the driver either places the luggage in thecompartment or removes it therefrom. Storage of the luggage in theselarge underoor compartments also results in considerable damage to theluggage due to scuiiing since Athere are so many varying types andconditions of luggage stored in the one large compartment andunrestrained from shifting. It has also been found that practically allpassengers feel uneasy at placing their luggage in the compartments outof their sight, while a large number are extremely reluctant to havetheir luggage so placed. The placement of the luggage beneath the floorand accessible 'only from the exterior of the vehicle results inconsiderable delay since the only person authorized to remove theluggage is the driver and in order to avoid delay the majority ofoperating companies or the drivers themselvesv have reserved the twoseats immediately behind the driver for the storage of luggage ofpassengers entering or leaving the bus intermediate the main terminals.Such a reservation of space necessarily reduces the pay load for whichthe vehicle is designed. It is an object, therefore, of the presentinvention to provide a passenger carrying vehicle in which.v

the luggage is carried inside the vehicle and bel `neath the' seats orseat supporting platform,

thereby permitting easy entrance and removal of the luggage.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a passengercarrying vehicle in which the seats are supported upon an irregular orsawtooth platform, which platform forms a protection for luggage orarticles carried on the vehicle floor beneath the platform.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a passenger carryingvehicle in which the seats are supported upon a platform spaced abovethe vehicle floor and'upon which luggage may be carried interiorly ofthe vehicle and beneath the platform while at the same time yieldingconstant leg room between seats throughout the vehicle.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a passengercarrying vehicle in which the seats are supported upon an irregular orsawtooth platform, the lower level of -which is substantially coplanarwith the wheel hood housings and which provides a space for luggagecarried on the vehicle floor beneath the platform, while at the sametimeproviding space for the concealment of air ducts or heating or coolingequipment.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a passengercarrying vehicle in which luggage is carried upon the vehicle oorbeneath they seats and without the necessity of cutting openings in thegirder side wall of the vehicle thereby retaining the full strength ofthe girder.

These and other objects of the'invention will be apparent to personsskilled in the art from a study of the following description andaccompanying drawings, in which: y

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a .portion of the improved vehicle; y

, Fig. 2 is an elevational viewof a portion of the vehicle disclosingthe construction of the seat supporting platform;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken substan-i tially on line 3-3 ofFig. y2 and disclosing the l platform, aisle and seat arrangement;

Fig. 4 is a. sectional view 4taken substantially on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an elevational view similar to Fig.` y2

but showing a modification thereof;

Fig. 6 is an e1evationa1 view similar to rig. 5 but showing va slight'modification thereof;

Fig. '7 is an elevational view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a furthermodification;

Fig. 8 is an elevational view showing the remore or less conventionalside wall 2, preferablyA of plate girder construction., and formed with`openings for reception of windows 4 as is customary. The girder sidewalls are joined together by a floor 6 located as closely adjacent thevehicle axles as is possible. This will, of course, cause 'the wheelhousings s (Fig. s) to project into the vehicle interior. The vehicleside walls and door may be constructed in the manner shown by Pattents1,743,211 or 2,139,807', but since this invention does not deal with thevehicle frame, the i exact construction of the frame has not been shown.Angles or other form metal members III are attached to the side walls onthe interior surface thereof and have one leg or flange I2 thereofextending inwardly to support the platform sheet. As clearly shown inFigs. 1 to 8 inclusive the platform sheet is formed with a horizontallower level portion I4 merging at one edge into a vertical portion I6and atvtheother edge into an inclined foot-rest portion I8. The footrestportion is preferably pressed or formed to provide side edge portionsjoined by varying depth walls 22 to the footrest portion, thuspermitting the edges of the sheet to be inclined at a relatively sharpangle, while the footrest portion may be inclined at an anglegivingmaximum comfort to persons desiring to use the same. The inner oraisle edges of the platform sheets are supported upon horizontal flange24 of an extruded angle form member having a short flange 26 projectingvertically and protecting the edges of the platform sheet, while arelatively long flange 28 extends downwardly to give strength to theangle extrusion. The lower edge of this downwardly directed flangeperferably terminates in a bulb end 30 (Fig. 4), thus preventing anyinjury to articles placed beneath the platform. The outer f extrudedangle and the side wall carried angle are bent to conform to theplatform sheets which they support and these angles may extendcontinuously from end to end of the vehicle or as indicated in Fig. 2they maybe made in short lengths and joinedtogether as at 34 beneath theseats. The inner or aisle angle is supported by means of standards 36attached to the floor at one side of the aisle or passageway 38 and asclearly shown in Fig. 3 these standards and the extruded angles are setinwardly an appropriate distance from the ends of the seats for apurpose later to be referred to. As clearly shown in Figs. 1 to 8 thewall carried angle and the angle carried by the standards at the aislesare formed with substantially horizontal portions upon which the seats40 of any desired construction may be supported. It is, ofcourse,obvious that if desired the platform sheets may extend across beneaththe seats, but it is preferable that the sheets terminate adjacent thepoints of attachment of the seats to the supporting angles therebysaving weight and fabrication costs. As shown in Fig. 2 the footrestportion I8 is extended upwardly as at 42 in order to protect the back ofthe adjacent seat in case it is found desirable to use a footrest 44which is normally folded against the plate 42 but which may be foldedout into position for use. 'Ihe seats are supported upon the upper levelof the platform at the proper distance for passenger comfort above thelower level portion I4, while the inner ends 48 of the seats are locatedat the proper distance apart to provide ample aisle space for entranceand exit of passengers. By terminating the platforms inwardly from theends of the seats ample space is provided for the insertion of luggage Linto the space beneath the seats and if desired such luggage may beturned on its side and stored under the lower level portion I4. It willthus be seen that ample space is provided beneath each double seat andits footrest portion for at least three large suitcases or travellingbags. It is evident that the luggage stored beneath the seats will notrequire the full space and accordingly heating or cooling equipmentorair ducts 48 (Figs. 3 and 9) may be located beneath the platform andadjacent the side walls of the vehicle. The floor level in the luggagestorage space is preferably .located at a slightly lower level than theaisle floor as clearly shown in Fig. 3 in order to retain luggage inposition beneath the seats, although this same result may beaccomplished if desired by merely inclining the floor downwardly fromthe aisle toat 52 to the supporting structure (Fig. 5).

ward the side walls. It may be desirable also to utilize a flexiblerubber band or other means 49 (Fig. 8) extending between the downwardlydirected flange of the aisle angle in order to retain tall or stackedluggage in position.

In certain instances it may be desirable to close the luggage spaceadjacent the aisle and this may be accomplished as shown in Figs. 5, 6and 7 by connecting the aisle plate to the floor by means of sheets 50.With the baggage space totally enclosed by the platform and aisle sheet,entrance to the baggage space may be obtained by hinging the forwardedge of the seat assembly as In this waythe entire seat may be foldedforward permitting the luggage L to be lowered into the luggage spacethrough the opening available by tilting the seat. In case such anarrangement is used a seat lock of any improved type would be usednormally locking the seat in its passenger receiving position.

Access to the closed baggage space may also be provided by eitherremoving the seat cushion i4 or folding such cushion upwardly as clearlyshown in Fig. 6 and again permitting the luggage L to be lowered intothe storage space. Such an arrangement is preferable to that shown'inFig. 5 since the seat structure as a whole may be firmly attached to thesupporting platform thereby eliminating the possibility of injury incase of collision.

Entrance to the closed baggage space may also be obtained as showninFig. 7. In this modification the lower level portion 56 of theplatform is hinged as at 58 to the vertical rigid portion 60, while thefootrest portion 62 is hinged as at 64 to the forward edge of the lowerlevel portion. The footrest portion has lts free edge resting upon anangular supporting plate 'G8 carried by the next forward seat supportingstructure. In this form the footrest portion and.

lower level platform portion may be folded upwardly permitting entranceof luggage into the` storage space, while at the same time permittingthe seats to be rigidly attached, asis customary, to their supportingstructure.

In certain service it may be found desirable to restrict the baggagespace and extend the lower level or platform 10 (Fig. 9) continuouslybeneath the seats, in which case the luggage L may still Vbe introducedfrom the aisle but must be placed on its side. In this form the seatsand to 'which structure may be attached the angles and raised platformpreviously described, thereby permitting storage of luggage inside thevehicle where it may be readily removed by its owners or opened toremove articles required during travel. By utilizing the arrangementshown and described the girder side walls will not have unnecessaryopenings cut therein and will be joined by a strong floor structurecapable of supporting the luggage and passenger load while the raisedirregular platform structure need support only the Weight of the seatsand passengers. Such an arrangement will permit of considerable economyin metal while maintaining maximum structural strength and at the sametime providing for storage of luggage in a more advantageous position.With the luggage stored as disclosed each passenger` will be able totake care of and watch his own luggage and obtain access thereto forremoval of necessities during travel. It will also be obvious to personsskilled in the art that by such a construction as that previouslydescribed the floor level may be carried as low as possible therebypermitting the lowering of the ceiling to the proper height above thefloor level, while the seats may be carried upon the platform located atsuch a level as to give constant leg room throughout the length of thebus. Such constant leg room'is possible due to the fact that theplatform is at a level substantially coplanar with the upper surface ofthe wheel hoods.

While the invention has been described more or less in detail, it isobvious that various modifications and rearrangements of parts, otherthan those shown and described, may be made and all such modificationsand rearrangements of parts are contemplated as will corne within thescope of the following claims which define my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a passenger vehicle having side Walls and a floor connecting theside walls the combination of means secured to the side walls above thedoor, means supported by the floor between the side walls of thevehicle, platforms carried by said means in vertically spaced relationto said oor to thereby provide storage space between the floor ,andplatform, said platforms having their inner edges spaced apart toprovide an aisle adjacent the floor and being so formed as toprovideopenings permitting entrance of luggage into said storage spacefrom said aisle, and seats supported on said platform and having theirinner ends overhanging said platform and restricting said aisle abovethe platform.

2. In a passenger vehicle having side walls and a substantiallyuniplanar floor connecting the side walls adjacent their lower edges,the

combination of saw-tooth platforms carried by said vehicle interiorlythereof and adjacent each side wall, said sawtooth platforms beingformed with valleys spaced vertically above said floor and with crestsspaced vertically above the floor and a greater distance thereabfovethan said valleys, and seats secured to said crests with their innerends overlapping the side edges of said platforms, said seats havingtheir inner ends spaced apart sufficiently to form an aisle space forpassage of passengers and said platform edges being spaced apart agreater amount to permit entrance of luggage from the aisle into thespace between the platform and floor.

3. A passenger vehicle having side walls, a floor connecting said sidewalls including a passenger aisle, structures at each side of saidpassenger aisle forming combined luggage compartments and seat supports,each of said structures including inner and outer supporting members,said supportingv members each comprising a top supporting structure anda fastening means, the outer supporting members having their fasteningmeans secured to the adjacent vehicle side Wall, spaced standardssecured to the fastening means lof the inner supporting members, saidsupporting members being provided with elevated seat supporting portionsand intermediate low level platform supporting portions, seats on saidelevated seat supporting portions, platforms on the low level portions,said seats and platforms constituting a substantially continuous coverfor luggage compartments further defined by the floor and side walls ofthe vehicle and accessible only from .the vehicle intelrior, said seatsextending inwardly off said standards whereby clearance is providedbeneath said seats for manipulation of luggage -being inserted in saidcompartment.

4. A passenger'vehicle having side walls, a floor connecting said sidewalls including a passenger aisle, structures at each side of saidpassenger aisle forming combined luggage compartments and seat supports,each of said structures including inner and outer supporting members,said supporting members each comprising a top supporting structure and afastening means, the outer supporting members having their fasteningmeans secured to the adjacent vehicle side wall, spaced standardssecured to the fastening means of the inner supporting .members, saidsupporting members being provided with elevated seat supporting portionsand intermediate low level platform supporting portions, seats on saidelevated seat supporting portions, platforms on the low level portions,said seats and platforms, constituting a substantially continuous coverfor luggage compartments further dened by the floor and side walls ofthe vehicle and accessible only from the vehicle interior, saidplatforms and spaced standards being substantially spaced outwardly ofthe seat inner ends whereby increased aisle clearance is provided belowthe level of the seats for manipulation of standard size luggage beinginserted in said com-= partments on either side of the aisle.

EDMUND G. MATHAUER.

